In music using string instruments, melodies are produced by plucking, striking, or bowing musical strings that are under tension, causing the strings to vibrate and the instrument to emit a sound. The sound produced by a musical string, or its pitch, can be manipulated by increasing or decreasing the tension across the musical string, a process commonly referred to as tuning. To tune the instrument, the musician simply rotates a tuning peg connected to the musical string until the desired sound is produced.
In many cases, musical strings are wrapped around tuning pegs at an end of a neck of the instrument, extend across a bridge, and attach to an opposite end of the instrument. Stringed instruments, such as a double bass, violin, and cello, often utilize a tailpiece to connect musical strings to a body of the instrument. Traditionally, tailpieces include a single member and a tailcord. Musical strings are attached at one end of the member, while the tailcord is attached at an opposite end. The connection between the tailpiece and the body of the instrument is facilitated by the tailcord, which extends across a saddle of the instrument and wraps around an endpin located on the body of the instrument. As the tailcord indirectly connects the musical strings to the body of the instrument, the tailcord is subjected to the same collective tension force as the musical strings.
Traveling with a string instrument can be cumbersome and even more burdensome when transporting a larger instrument, such as a double bass. To make it easier for traveling musicians, some string instruments have been designed to collapse or break down into several pieces thus making them more compact and easier to store, carry, and transport. Collapsing or breaking down these types of string instruments may include removing or pivoting the neck of the instrument. As the musical strings are typically connected to both the neck and the body of the instrument in order for the neck to be modified, the musical strings generally need to be detached from either the neck or the body. Typically, the musical strings are left attached to the tuning pegs of the neck and are detached from the body of the instrument by removing the tailpiece, which is accomplished by detaching the tailcord from the endpin. Removal of the tailcord from the endpin may involve reducing the tension across the musical strings and, thus, the tailcord. To reduce the tension across musical strings of a string instrument utilizing a traditional tailpiece the tuning pegs are rotated. The bridge may then be removed to further reduce the tension of the musical strings, and ultimately the tailcord is removed from the endpin. Thus, the musician typically retunes the instrument each time the instrument is reassembled.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for reducing the tension across the musical strings of a string instrument.